1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to a system of motivating students to achieve educational goals using a computerized gaming activity requiring the acquisition of academic skills and demonstration of the ability to perform the acquired academic skills to successfully enjoy the gaming activity.
2. Description of Related Art
Computerized gaming has become a popular form of entertainment. Many computerized games provide a virtual world with the player assuming the role of a character interacting with other characters, objects, or locations in attempting to accomplish a series of tasks leading to some ultimate goal. Currently such computerized gaming may be played on a variety of hardware platforms from specialized individual computer gaming devices to games played with a general-purpose PC on a web site on the Internet. Games that create elaborate virtual worlds and allow multiple players to inhabit these worlds are known as massively multiplayer online role playing games. A variety of these games are commonly played using the Internet.
There is an important problem in educating students in skills prescribed by formal schooling programs of all types. The problem is motivation in educational settings where the skills taught are not immediately applicable to the student's everyday life. There is an artificial motivation required in order to successfully master these skills. Much of formal schooling proceeds under the basis that this artificial motivation is best achieved by compulsion on the one hand and/or learner self-motivation on the other. This framework is not ideal and results in the wide variation in outcomes that is endemic to most schooling.
There is criticism by parents and educators of the time spent by young people in playing computerized games, particularly if the time spent would better be used for school-related learning activities to improve scholastic performance. Therefore it is desirable to use the popularity of computerized game playing to motivate students in their academic studies to enable the student to enjoy the game and the learning experience.
One example of combining a game and learning software is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,740 (Wen et al). This system permits a player to choose between playing the next game stage or running the learning software. If the player selects the game, the game will play normally. If the player selects the learning software it will advance the game an amount related to the score on the learning exercise, providing an incentive for the player to use the learning software. Another approach to combining game software and learning software is described in U.S. Patent Application publication number 2005/0208459 (Chang et al.). This system stops the game at pre-selected events and activates the learning software. The learning software exercise must be completed satisfactorily to permit continued playing of the game until another pre-selected event occurs to activate the learning software.
It would be desirable to integrate the desired skill to be learned into a game students found desirable to play, rather than having the game activity separate from the learning activity as in the prior art. This approach provides a motivation to the player to excel at the skill in order to advance in the game. Acquiring the skill then becomes meaningful and relevant to the student.